From 2011 to 2013, Chinese-backed hackers targeted, and in many cases breached, nearly two dozen companies that own such pipelines. For the first time, U.S agencies said they judged that the « intrusions were likely intended to gain strategic access » to the #industrial control #networks (#ISC) that run the pipelines « for future operations rather than for intellectual property theft. » Chinese government recruiting criminal hackers to attack Western targets, U.S. and allies. In other words, hackers were preparing to take control of the pipelines, rather than just stealing the #technology that allowed them to function. Of 23 operators of natural gas pipelines that were subjected to a form of email fraud known as spear phishing, #US agencies said that 13 were successfully compromised, while 3 were « near misses. » The extent of intrusions into 7 operators was unknown because of an absence of data. The newly declassified report was a reminder that nation-backed hackers targeted oil and gas pipelines before #cyber criminals devised new ways of holding their operators hostage for ransom. #Ransomware is a form of #malware that encrypts data until the victim pays. « The lives and livelihoods of the American people depend on our collective ability to protect our nation's critical infrastructure from evolving #threats »

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/us/politics/china-hacking-pipelines.html